


What happens at Elsie, stays at Elsie

by Lilly_Shiba_01



Series: Nathalie AU [5]
Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Angst, Anti Mia, Coming Out, M/M, Married Chris Colfer/Darren Criss, Miarrens won't like this story, Nathalie is an OC, Sorry Not Sorry, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 19:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21258272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilly_Shiba_01/pseuds/Lilly_Shiba_01
Summary: It's Elsie fest and Darren has way too much to do, with Chris being on the book tour and him having all 4 children. And then Nathalie has another of her really great ideas. One that involves Mia and her little sister.





	What happens at Elsie, stays at Elsie

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to a new story. Tomorrow is NaNoWriMo, which I plan to do. This story was supost to be finished three days ago, but school interfered. I also have a Halloween story, which I didn't get to finish because I wanted to do this one first. I try to finish the Halloween story asap. Anyways, this story has little paragraphs which are told by different people and is longer than I thought it would be. I hope you like it.

The apartment was quiet when Darren woke up, but the streets weren't, even though it was a Saturday and the apartment was outside of the city center, but what did you expect from New York City, the city that never sleeps. When Darren had been younger, he loved being directly in the city, being in the middle of everything, but as he grew older, he realized that being outside of everything could also be helpful.  
Lukas was lying in his crib, still asleep like his older sibling in the bed. Lukas had fallen asleep pretty early the day before, probably thanks to the flying, while Marcia and Julian stayed awake way too long than usual due to the time difference. Darren knew he'd had to wake them up soon, to get ready in time for Elsie Fest.  
Quietly he got out of the bed, trying not to wake the children and changed from his pj's into street clothes. When he walked into the living room, he found Nathalie already awake on her phone. She wasn't calling anyone; she was sitting there, phone in her hand and earplugs in her ears, just staring at something on the phone. It was like she wasn't aware of her surroundings when she didn't acknowledge Darren after he greeted her, which was probably also the reason why he scared her when he tapped her on her shoulder.  
"Have you thought about my offer?" Darren asked when she was done hitting him for scaring her.  
"Papa, I already told you. NO." Nathalie said before standing up and going into the kitchen.

It had been easier than expected to get everyone ready and out of the house. Darren had dressed Lukas while the infant was still asleep, something Darren didn't appreciate as much as he should sometimes. Marcia and Julian were still too tired to put up any fights when Darren and Nathalie dressed them.  
As thanks to getting over 10 minutes earlier out of the apartment, Darren struggled to get the kids into the car. Neither Marcia nor Julian wanted to sit in the middle seat, but there was no other option. At home, they both could look out of the windows due to them owning a van, but here it was just a normal 5-seater, and Nathalie was already sitting at the passenger seat.  
In the end, Darren and to threaten to call his parents so that they would babysit the wins in the apartment, while Darren would take Nathalie and Lukas with him to Elsie fest. The thought about having to spend the whole day in the small apartment without going out was enough to get them to stop fighting and strapped in.

The car ride was unspectacular. Lukas was still asleep; the infant could sleep through a bomb attack. Marcia and Julian had calmed down and were quietly – as quietly as two excited 8-year-old's can talk – talking to each other about all the stuff they were going to do during the day. Nathalie was texting someone, probably one of her friends, if the small giggle that escaped her from time to time was anything to judge by.  
"Merle and Lucie are gonna be at Elise today. I was thinking about getting both backstage, but Kate, Lucie's friend from here, might come too, and I don't know her enough to take her backstage, you know. So I might take Merle." Nathalie said after a while. She had put her phone onto the console and was leaning against the window, looking out.  
"Everything alright?" Darren asked, not even trying to change the girls' mind; she was too stubborn for it. Nathalie had surprisingly quiet the last couple of days unless she was with Merle. It might be nothing, Chris was also always getting quiet whenever something big was coming up and her Starkid depute at the end of the month was something she was working for since she was 13.  
"Yeah, just trying to figure out more ways to tell you that I'm not gonna perform today."

Around 1 Darren left to get lunch for them, knowing it was already later than their regular lunchtime and how Marcia and Julian would eat all the unhealthy stuff that they had backstage if they wouldn't get something soon. Darren couldn't have to take care of two 8-year old's on a sugar high too. Also, he wouldn't be able to get something to eat until after Elsie, which was way too late, considering that he barely had any for breakfast.  
Darren knew that Merle, Nathalie's best friend from Germany, had arrived by now, like Lucie and Kate, and that she was waiting alone because Lucie was standing a bit behind her in line, and the German girl wasn't willing to leave her spot unattended. Leaving your spot unattended meant, other people could steal it, and you would have to go to the back of the line.  
According to Nathalie, Merle knew someone in the front of the line, but they seem to not want her with them.  
Darren could do two things. Have Nathalie text Merle to go to the entrance and get in, or pick her up himself. After a quick text to security, who told him, they would be at the entrance in case something went wrong, Darren walked into Central Park to pick up Merle. He chose to walk by all the waiting fans, not to start a riot, but to show the girls that didn't want Merle with them, that they could have that if they would have let her stay. Sure, it was a bit mean, but who cares. Darren didn't  
When he walked by Lucie, he, of course, greeted her and stopped for a quick chat. They had met a few years prior through Nathalie. Of course, the fans noticed him, wanted to take a picture with him, but he either said no or ignored them. He had food to bring to his hungry children.   
It took Darren a while until he finally reached Merle, who was sitting on the fence next to the road together with another girl, probably a bit younger than her. Of course, they had seen him before he had seen them, but they kept sitting when he approached them, for which Darren was glad.  
"Hey." Darren greeted them and opened his arms so that Merle could hug him, which she did after a second. Nathalie must have 'forgotten' to tell her about him picking her up.   
"Hi." The teenager replied after a minute before she stood up and hugged Darren. It had made him feel self-conscious when he stood there, with his arms open and she hit responding. "What are you doing here?" She asked after she took a step back.   
Instead of answering, Darren held his hand out for the woman, and the girl Merle was with to shake. "Hi, I'm Darren." He said, knowing that they knew who he is. They both spoke his hand dumbstruck.   
Just then, he turned back to Merle. "I'm here to pick you up. And I have lunch. I hope you like Indian."   
"I had it only once, so I can't say if I like it or not." Merle began talking, looking over to the other side of the pavement, where three bags where laying.   
"This yours? Cool, Nathalie told me you got it, but she wouldn't tell me what it said." Darren said and grabbed one of the bags. The German girl didn't need to confirm anything; he just knew it.   
Darren had heard about the bag, a lot to be honest, but was never shown a picture of it. The infamous Santana quote bag that Merle had gotten some time ago. According to Nathalie, it had also been the way Merle came out to Nathalie.  
"Are you sure I can come with you?" Merle asked, sounding a bit unsure.   
"Of course, or else I wouldn't have gotten lunch for you too," Darren answered with a smile. "Now, take your stuff, security is waiting for us."  
Merle took her other bag, said goodbye to the girl she had talked to, and followed Darren. He still had to dodge crazy fans, asking for autographs and pictures.   
"They're at the beginning of the line." Merle pointed out when Darren asked where the girls where, that told her to not cut in line when all she did was talk with a friend. "But you aren't going to talk to them. Neither will you ban them from the fest. That would be mean."  
Darren just chuckled, Nathalie had said the same thing just an hour or so ago.   
"Do you want to tell them where you're going?" Darren asked, as they approach the group of girls, who all had their phones out, probably filming them.   
The German girl spoke her head no. "I'll text her after lunch. But it would have been more fun if a security guard had picked me up." She said quietly.  
Darren chuckled again. "Yeah, it would have been." He said as he leads them towards the guards, passing the girls in the front of the line.

"You did what?" Merle, Nathalie, Marcia, and Julian sat at the edge of the stage, the two older girls talking about whatever came into their minds. A few last rehearsals were going on behind them, but they weren't disrupting anything, so they were allowed to stay. Darren was behind the stage, talking to Chris, and his parents had taken Lukas with them into the warmth. Mia had shown up half an hour earlier, trying to get Darren's attention, but had luckily backed off when she'd seen Nathalie.   
"To my defense, I was drunk," Nathalie said, laughing.   
"You're 19; you're still underage," Merle answered her, acting as if she was shocked.   
"I'm German." Was Natalie's answer to that.   
"That's not an explanation."  
Nathalie didn't answer; she was looking at Mia again, instead. "You know what. I'm going to do it. Marcia, come with me."  
The older Colfer-Criss daughter hopped off the stage, opening her arms for her younger sister before they both went towards Mia. Before they reached her, Nathalie whispered something into Marcia's ear, and the younger girl nodded happily.   
"Mia, wait," Nathalie called loudly after the older woman that she despite so much. It didn't just get the attention of Mia, but also some of the people working around them. "There is somebody who wants to talk to you."  
First, Mia grinned, as if she thought she suddenly was famous, but the smile fall when she saw Marcia.   
"Are you gonna be my new mommy?" The 8-year-old asked innocently. Mia's eyes got even bigger in shock. This was not what she expected.   
"I, I, I'm sorry. Who are you?" Mia stuttered after a few seconds.   
"Marcia Criss. Are you my new mommy? My old mommy said that if I misbehave, she'll send me to my daddy, and then I'll get a new mommy. And everyone says, you're my daddy's wife, so you must be my new mommy."   
Nathalie was nearly 100% sure; they wouldn't need to put Marcia in acting classes; she was already good.   
"Who do you think you are? Did Nathalie put you up to this?" Mia asked angrily.   
"No ma'am, Miss Colfer, just was so nice to guide me to you. And I'm Darren Criss' daughter. That's what mommy said."  
If Nathalie hadn't been such a great actress herself, she would have started laughing, but because she's an Emmy award-winning actress, she kept her face as straight as her relationship with her boyfriend. Yes, she couldn't come up with a better comparison because of all she could think of how gay the relationship between her dads where and how a lot of people she knew where everything but straight.  
"Now listen to me, you little liar. Did that bitch Nathalie put you up to this? So you thank anything she says is true? She's just manipulating bitch, thinking she's special. Because that's what's happening to you if you grow up with a fag. If you think spreading such lies is going to give you attention, you're wrong. So, if I were you, you little prick, I would go running back to your oh so precious mother, who told you lies. Understood dwarf?" Mia spits into Marcia's face, who just stood there.  
"If I were you, I would start learning how to be a mother. Unless you would want the press to find out that your precious hubby cheated in you, oh wait, I bet they already will thank all the people filming this."   
Nathalie countered back and grabbed her baby sister's hand to drag her away from Mia. When she looked up, she saw Darren standing on stage. Their eyes found each other for a second. He had probably seen everything and would be angry at her for dragging Marcia into this. She also saw the others filming everything.   
"Get out!" Darren sounded angrier than Nathalie had ever heard him. She had listened to her parents' fight, both sets of them, and never had one person seemed this mad.   
She was about to answer something, plead to be forgiven when Mia answered. "I'm sorry? I'm your wife, not her. Make her leave." Oh, he wasn't talking to her. Nathalie sighed out of relieving.   
"Oh, you better be sorry. Why do you think it's okay to talk to them like that? Calling them names? Insulting Chris, who has absolutely nothing to do with this."  
"Why are you taking their side? They came to me; they provoked me." Mia tried to defend herself, but Nathalie was sure it would be useless. She could feel Darren being angry at her for provoking Mia, but he would still side with her. He always had, no matter how wrong she was unless it was against Chris. "I'm your wife; she's just your former costar."  
"You're not my wife. You never were, and you never will be. Now get out before I get security. I always thought Nathalie was crazy, but she seemed to have been telling the truth."  
Everyone was quiet for a second, shocked about Darren's confession before they began to whisper. Now his biggest secret was out. This was not what Nathalie had planned. Sure, she wanted that Darren saw what a horrible person Mia is and break up with her, but she didn't want Darren to come out.   
"What are you talking about, Darren? Of course, we're married. Why wouldn't we be?" Mia was the first to break the silence, but that didn't stop the silence from coming back. Only this time, it was even more uncomfortable.   
"Why are you angry, papa?" Marcia asked quietly, a bit unsure of herself. Her voice was what broke the spell.   
"Mia, get out. Now." Darren said again before turning to Merle. "Take the twins up to my parents. And we're gonna talk."   
The last part was said towards Nathalie, and she hoped it wouldn't turn into her Papa hating her. She could probably deal with everything else except that.   
"Papa, I'm sorry, okay?" Nathalie said the moment she also got into the room, which was the sporadic office. "I didn't know Mia would react that way. I only wanted her to dump you if she would know about Marcia and Julian. You have to believe me." She pleaded. "Papa, I just wanted you to be happy, and you will never be happy as long as you're publicly with her. And I don't want to hide anymore. I don't want to lie about who my family is anymore. You and dad tell me lying is bad, but in the same breath, you tell me, I can't tell anyone. I want to tell anyone about our family, not just a few selected people that I have following me on my private account. I want the world to know about us. It doesn't have to be everything, but just something."  
Darren had sat onto the table somewhere during the beginning of Nathalie's rant but had stood up again when it became clear she was soon finished. "Okay." He just said, making the teenager stop dead on her tracks. "I hear you, I listen to you, I understand you, I feel similar and I while I deep down inside of me I wish I could tell you that the moment we step out of here, everything is going back to normal, it won't. But everything won't suddenly have changed to the best. People will talk a lot. We won't be able to post any cute pictures of Lukas after a day in daycare or pictures of you and Marcia twining, but we will be soon. At least I hope so."  
"What are you saying?" Nathalie asked her Papa. Was this what she hoped it was.   
"I'm saying that we'll be lucky if there aren't any newspaper articles yet."  
"I think you underestimate Merle. She will probably have everyone swear that they won't post anything, if not confiscated all the phones. How do you think she managed to get to New York during school time." Darren laughed and stood up to hug her, making her realize that he wasn't angry at her. It instead felt that he was relieved.

Nathalie had been right. Merle had made everyone promise not to post anything about the incident until after Elsie. Darren was rightfully impressed by her. Nobody said a word or even looked at him strangely, and the German girl was just calmly sitting with his parents, also not saying anything. She did not look like someone who could scare others enough not to say anything. But maybe that was why she could be so scary.   
The rest of the day went more smooth than before until Marcia found out that Darren had asked Nathalie multiple times to sing. Being the stupid person that he was sometimes, he told her, if she could convince Nathalie to sing a duet with her, she would be allowed to sing. Of course, he forgot that while Nathalie is stubborn, Marcia can be very persistent and won't give up until she reached at least part of her goal. What surprised Darren was that it took Marcia less than 5 minutes to convince Nathalie and so he was sitting with his daughter and the band together, finding a song that the girls could sing as a duet, and the band could also play. Luckily Marcia's song choices were all Disney, so mostly pretty easy songs for the band.  
"You remember how I asked Nathalie to sing during Elsie, do you?" Darren asked Chris over the phone. Even though he was informing the younger man, it more felt like he was about to ask for permission for something.  
"No." Chris interrupted him.  
"What? I didn't even ask a question." Darren said, laughing.  
"You don't have to; my answer is still No. Unless you're calling to tell me that you love me, then my answer is, I love you too. But for that, you wouldn't have started the way you did."  
"Well, I was calling to tell you that Nathalie is going to perform a duet with Marcia. She wanted to sing, and I told her she could if Nathalie said yes. I didn't expect her to say yes." Chris hmmed as an acknowledgment.  
"You are stupid; you know that, right?" Chris asked after a few seconds of silence. Darren didn't say anything. "You could have just said yes, there would have been no different. And do you think Marcia can stay awake that long?"  
Darren thought about it for a second. Sure, it will be late, but never say never, right? "Well, if not, I'm sure Nathalie will be able to do it as a solo just fine."  
"I'm glad that you have so much confidence in our daughter. I would also like to remind you that I'm going to Disneyland with Nathalie and her friends from Tuesday until Thursday and that you'll be alone with the kids during that time. Anyways, I love you, and I sadly have to go now. Alla is already giving me that look." Darren chuckled and said goodbye too. If Marcia was able to stay awake that long, it really would be hard to get her down afterward.

Announcing Marcia and Nathalie as just Colfer was a bit risque since people only knew that Nathalie was Chris's daughter, and Marcia looked so much like Darren, but he wasn't ready for the world to know about the kids yet, or at least that they are his children. They did a beautiful duet with singing For the First Time in Forever (reprise). Marcia had been full of energy, but according to his mom, fell asleep as soon as she was backstage. Nathalie had stayed for a duet with Darren on stage before she left too. While his parents brought Marcia, Julian, and Lukas back to the apartment, Darren left for Marie's Crisis Cafe with Nathalie, Merle, and Lucie, Lucie's friend having to work the next day. Darren had been surprised to find that Mia wasn't at Marie's Crisis, she had known about the plan to go there afterward, and Darren had thought that maybe she wasn't ready to give up and try again there. But perhaps she had given up or at least learned her lesson.   
They had stayed way too late, considering that they had plans for the next day. Lucie had taken an Uber to get to her hotel when they left, while Merle came with them. It was after 1 am, and it would be way later when she would arrive in Queens so that she would stay with them at the hotel of Darren's parents. It was something Darren had agreed on with his parents before they had left, that they would stay at the apartment and that he would stay at their hotel.

The next morning had also been pretty hectic. They had to get up early again so that Darren was back at the apartment before Marcia, Julian, and Lukas woke up. Merle wanted to change into fresh clothes before she would meet some Glee fans and Nathalie and Marcia later that day.  
At first, the German girl had been hesitant about telling her friend about the meeting, nobody knew that she and the former Glee actress are friends, well people knew, but none of them are also Glee fans. It wasn't that she was hiding their friendship; she wasn't mentioning it every time she got the chance to do so, which was why she was so hesitant. And it wouldn't be just Nathalie that they would meet, they would also meet Marcia.  
Merle arrived a bit later than the other people she was meeting with at Bryant Park, still not sure if she should tell them about Nathalie coming too, but forgot about it, the moment she sat down. She forgot about Nathalie so much that she was startled when one of them suddenly noticed Nathalie and Marcia walking towards them. "Oh my god, is that Nathalie Colfer walking towards us?" The girl asked. Merle herself was sitting with her back to Nathalie, so she had to turn around like a few other girls had to do too. They all looked shocked when they saw the two Colfer girls.  
"Great, now you ruined my surprise," Nathalie said jokingly to the girl that noticed her before she leaned down to Merle and hugged her. "Hi, I'm Nathalie, and this is my little sister Marcia. You might have seen us yesterday at Elsie." Nathalie introduced them, which resulted in even more speechlessness than there already was.  
"Hey, you didn't tell them that we would come too?" Nathalie asked Merle quietly after she and Marcia were seated too.  
"Nah." Merle shook her head. "It this way was way more fun."  
"Well, imagine how they are going to be when Papa's gonna show up in a bit to drop Lukas off before he and Julian go into the park. We might have to do CPR." Nathalie whispered. Yes, that would be fun, Merle thought and leaned her head against the actress's shoulder as long as she would not fall asleep before.


End file.
